The Value of a Name
by JustAnotherAuthorDurping
Summary: BBxRae Post Season Five; “Actually, I spent only twenty dollars. And this time I won you something way cooler then a chicken.” A small little one-shot in which Beast Boy does another act of kindness to crack through Raven's hard exterior. R&R?


A/N: So recently I have become obsessed with reminiscing over my childhood (gosh, it wasn't that long ago) and recalling one of my most loved TV shows, Teen Titans. From the start of that show I had always loved Beast Boy and Raven as a couple because frankly, they're so opposite that they just balance the other. I love it. And Terra is just a… well, a list of vast profanities, but I digress. I am going to apologize for the shoddiness of this – it's very badly written in my opinion. Ugh. This is what happens when I get lazy and don't write for a while. Crap is produced.

This takes place preferably post season five. And if one does not understand the ending entirely, then I suggest you do some research on Beast Boy.

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters**.

**The Value of a Name:**

"BB, I can't believe you actually won that."

Cyborg and Beast Boy were walking together through the gray corridors of Titans Tower, their voices loud with excitement. In Beast Boy's hands sat a decent sized stuffed animal – it was a black and white spider monkey, its hands held together by the velcro in its palms and its large black eyes gazing forward blankly. Earning the prize had lightened his wallet by a good twenty dollars and caused much frustration on his part, but by the end it was Beast Boy grinning with victory and Cyborg glaring off in the distance. _He_ hadn't won anything.

"Dude, didn't you know I'm the _king_ at carnival games?" Beast Boy gloated, holding the stuffed monkey out in front of him and assessing it.

Cyborg's eyes widened in outrage. "Ya' only won because _I_ loosened up the bottles! You would've been there the whole night trying to knock 'em down if I hadn't gone first."

"You're just jealous," Beast Boy replied confidently, tilting his head back and forth with conviction. "Hey, how much do we look alike?" His body swiftly shrunk down so his head rose only a foot and a half off the ground, his body resembling that of the stuffed animal in his arms. Spider monkey Beast Boy gave a wide grin and posed before Cyborg.

Cyborg took a moment to compare the two and then said with a small smirk, "Other then the fact that you're snot-green? You two look like brothers."

Beast Boy's feature's immediately darkened, his tail bending down along with his arms and his lips falling down into a fuming frown. The changeling's body morphed once more back to human form and he pursued Cyborg with a vehement response of defense. After all, he wasn't _snot_ green – more of a leaf green.

The two continued their light-hearted banter until they reached Cyborg's room where he announced it was time to hit the sack and bid Beast Boy goodnight. Beast Boy, having had an idea been implanted in his mind since he saw the spider monkey hanging from the carnival stand, decided to head towards the common room in search of someone.

When he reached it, the door _whooshed_ open swiftly and he stepped forward into the bright lighting of the room.

Closing his eyes, Beast Boy grinned and announced enthusiastically, "I'm baaack! Who missed me?" Receiving no response, he cracked a forest green eye open.

A quick scan of the room told him that only Raven was still up – ah, excellent.

She sat at the black counters of the kitchen, a red mug sitting in front of her with what he presumed to be herbal tea, steam rising from it slowly. A pale, almost gray hand poked through the dark blue of her cloak and stirred the contents of her cup with a spoon. Her head did not even twitch towards him when she spoke.

"If you want to wake the entire tower, could you do it in a less annoying manner?" Though Raven's voice sounded as it usually did – a bored monotone – there was a hint of sarcasm and displeasure laced in her words.

Beast Boy scratched nervously at the back of his head; perhaps he should have rethought his entrance line. "Heh, my bad? Sorry, Rae."

She did not accept his apology or say anything in return – Beast Boy hovered awkwardly at the top of the steps for a few seconds. Then, decidedly, he descended the few stairs to the main floor of the common room and placed his trophy from the pier behind his back.

His tone playful, Beast Boy pursued to have a human moment with Raven. "Hey Raven, I won you something at the carnival – wanna see?"

Raven chose that moment to turn her violet irises onto him with a penetrating gaze that was enough to make anyone squirm.

"Am I supposed to be excited over another giant farm animal you spent sixty dollars on trying to win?"

Beast Boy's face fell for a moment with an irked expression but it quickly resumed its optimistic light.

"Actually, I spent only twenty dollars. And hello, this time I won you something _way_ cooler then a chicken." He moved to the opposite side of the counter from her in one swift, dramatic movement and leaned away from her. "Drum roll, please!"

Silence.

He arched forward. "Uh, Raven, could you…?"

Raven remained unmoving, staring at him with those bored uncaring eyes of hers.

Beast Boy promptly continued as though unfazed by her lack of enthusiasm.

"Introducing the your newest most favorite gift from any of the Titans that you won't just shove in your closet like last time or throw away… Tada!"

The stuffed monkey flew out from behind Beast Boy's back and onto the linoleum counter before Raven, its black eyes gazing up at her absently. Beast Boy's lips parted to reveal a mouth full of ivory teeth, his grin almost blinding.

Raven's stared at her 'gift', her face emotionless.

"A monkey," she intoned.

Beast Boy nodded. "Yup!"

Taking a sip of her tea, Raven said nothing in return.

Beast Boy's ears drooped slightly. "Well… uh, it's not just any kind of monkey… it's a spider monkey. It's my one of my favorite forms too, see?"

Once again Beast Boy's body morphed into a spider monkey, resembling the toy next to him almost identically save for color. He grinned at Raven and made a few squeaky noises before changing back into his human form. "Cool, right? Do you like it?"

The purple haired empath reached a hand forward and lifted up the tiny ape until it was eye level. "It's a small, furry, stuffed animal that smiles and has velcro connecting hands," she stated bluntly. "Why don't you give it to Starfire."

With that, Raven rose from her stool with her mug and walked out of the room, not even bothering to take the monkey or say goodnight. Beast Boy watched her leave, his evergreen eyes widening with hurt from his friend's insensitivity. His ears bent down further and he visibly slouched, his cheek falling to his palm.

"I should've known that was a stupid idea," he muttered to himself. He grabbed the tail of the fake animal and waved it back and forth, his pupils following the black fabric. As he continued to watch, an idea blossomed in his mind and a smile worked its way back up to his lips.

* * *

Raven was just beginning lie down and get comfortable in her bed when a soft knock was heard from her door. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to keep her patience at an even level and threw back the blanket before she convince herself to remain where she was. Padding over to the door, she waited for it to slide open and poked her head out.

"Who's there?" she asked the blackness with a hushed tone, glancing down both ends of the hall. She was going to turn back into her room when she noticed a small glow of white at her feet.

It was the toy Beast Boy had won for her.

Trying to ignore the fact that she felt her cheeks warm slightly at his overt kindness, Raven picked up the stuffed animal and walked back into her room. She sat cross-legged on her bed and stared at the smiling animal across form her that seemed to be illuminated by the subtle moonlight that washed into her room.

"You know you're obnoxiously happy looking. And you're not cute," she told the animal brusquely. He (wait - since when did she give inanimate objects genders?) did not respond but merely continued to grin at her with the same ridiculous bliss.

"And your eyes are lopsided."

Nothing.

"Your mouth is crooked on the right."

Still nothing.

Raven was certain no matter what she said to him, no matter what horribly callous comments she made about him that he would remain smiling (well, of _course_ he would – stuffed animals don't move). Always smiling, _always_. Always trying to cheer those up around him with that stupid _smile_, even when there was _nothing_ to smile about. Even when the world around him was falling apart.

Raven wrinkled her nose at the monkey. "You remind me alot of... ah."

It was then that she decided his name will be Garfield.

Though she did not voice this, the stuffed creature seemed to glow even brighter beneath her touch and she could have sworn it's smile twitched upwards just a _tad_ more...

Raven blinked. Then scoffed.

What a ridiculous thing do – name an inert object. And then thinking it could physically change on its own. She definitely needed some sleep.

Lying the animal next to her, she slid beneath her blankets and closed her eyes; she would put the stuffed toy in a drawer later when she wasn't so tired. Her thoughts briefly mulled over the little green shape shifter whose room was next to hers but sleep was stealthy and quickly stole over her thoughts. Her body relaxed, her mouth parting slightly and allowing slow and even breaths to fall with ease from between her lips.

Raven never noticed the content green spider that crawled out of her room through the space between the carpet and door that evening.

* * *

A/N: So there's my first Teen Titans fic. Reviews would be welcome.


End file.
